Managing Director, Advancement

Houston, TX, United States

Managing Director, Advancement

Job Description

About Good Reason Houston

Good Reason Houston exists to create a future where every child in every neighborhood of Houston has access to a world-class public education that prepares them to thrive in the Houston of tomorrow. We believe that all Houston students deserve an excellent education, and work to reshape the Houston education landscape by inspiring hope, possibility, and action as we work towards our mission of growing the number of students learning in great public schools.

Good Reason Houston builds awareness of, advocates for, and advises school systems on measures aimed to improve the quality of education available to all. Today the organization partners with 25 public school systems that collectively serve 700,000 students across 900 public schools in the Houston region. We seek to cultivate a shared regional vision for educational quality, to build the capacity for change required within districts and the greater Houston community, and to foster collective ownership to support student-level results for kids across our city.

For more information, please visit www.goodreasonhouston.org .

About the Role

Good Reason Houston seeks a dynamic and highly collaborative leader to develop, lead and grow a comprehensive fundraising program that advances the organization’s mission and strategic goals by generating sustainable philanthropic revenue to meet the organization’s fundraising requirement. The position will also support the fundraising requirement of our affiliated organization, Houstonians for Greater Public Schools (Houston GPS).

The Managing Director, Advancement will lead, plan and manage the day-to-day operations of the organization’s fundraising department and major gift support for the organization’s fundraising priorities. The ideal candidate has extensive skills leading a fundraising operation and proven experience in creating and leading fundraising strategies, campaigns and initiatives and facilitating leadership gift conversations with individual, corporate and/or foundation donors.

The Managing Director, Advancement will report directly to the Chief Financial Officer and work in close collaboration with the Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director of Houston GPS, and the Board of Directors to execute against the fundraising strategy of the organization. A results-oriented and strategic leader, this role will be responsible for managing and growing a high-performing advancement team and will serve as a member of the organization's management committee.

Primary Responsibilities

Develop and execute fundraising strategy to secure $7.5M of private revenue annually from a diverse and expansive set of individual and institutional donors to meet the fundraising requirement of both Good Reason Houston and Houston GPS

Build a high-functioning advancement team and infrastructure that balances fundraising strategy and execution appropriately across staff, senior leadership, and the Board of Directors

Lead, grow and inspire a high-performing advancement team while fostering a collaborative and results-driven work environment

Personally manage a portfolio of current and prospective donors at the highest levels of giving capacity, moving them through the stages of cultivation, solicitation and stewardship

Oversee the management of a robust donor pipeline of individual and institutional funders

Collaborate with senior leadership to identify and refine giving priorities and translate those priorities into compelling opportunities for philanthropy and persuasive proposals

Set and implement multi-year and annual fundraising goals and manage revenue and expense budgets

Construct strategies and execute plans that will markedly increase support from major gifts, corporate and foundation support, fundraising events, institutional marketing campaigns, and grants

Provide regular updates to senior leadership and Board of Directors on fundraising progress and individual team members in donor cultivation efforts as relevant

Oversee the planning and execution of fundraising events and develop strategies to maximize event revenue, engage participants, and increase awareness of Good Reason Houston

Effectively manage the advancement team’s day-to-day operations, budget and income forecasts

Champion an overall data-driven approach to advancement strategy, including developing a mastery of any relevant technological tools and processes that support this approach

Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Key Attributes

Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of related professional experience preferred

Proficient with MS Office, CRM systems, and pipeline management/planning tools

Former experience as a Head of Development and/or leading a team of multiple fundraisers highly preferred.

Record of successful grant awards from major local and/or national institutional donors preferred

Proven track record of leading people and processes within complex organizations, including coaching and motivating teams to successfully reach and/or exceed fundraising goals

Exceptional judgment, strong initiative, and the ability to think strategically and analytically to move from vision to action and influence others towards outcomes

Personal drive and high motivation with the ability to manage a significant volume of diverse tasks, activities and projects efficiently and effectively

Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write and present fundraising materials to a diverse set of audiences

A problem-solving orientation – can break down problems, define pathways forward, and invest others in a solution

Our Team

Along with our core beliefs, the traits listed below were generated by the team to capture what it looks like in action when operating at our best.

We embrace and drive change .

We are flexible and fierce .

We operate with a bold bias toward action .

We fess up when we mess up.

We dare greatly and engage humbly .

We grow as we go .

We turn up the love when we turn up the heat .

We root for each other .

Good Reason Houston staff are expected to support this organizational culture by promoting and adhering to these team traits to maintain an open and cohesive work environment & relationships.

Working at Good Reason Houston

Good Reason Houston offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience in a similar position. New hires are offered a salary depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. Benefits offered include 401(k) (automatic 3% employer contribution), life, medical, dental and vision insurance packages. Each employee accrues 35 paid time off days per calendar year in addition to the 19 paid holidays per year. Good Reason Houston is an office-based organization, but allows for virtual work on Mondays and Fridays.

Apply at www.GoodReasonHouston.org/Careers

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